Chapter 199: Death and Life Commitment

"What kind of deal?" Zu An asked, looking at the distant legion of undead soldiers. A chill ran through him; he hadn't even escaped the wolf's den before entering the tiger's lair. It seemed there was no escaping his fate today.

Mi Li quickly stated, "You must know that once these undead legions break free, every living thing here will die..."

Zu An couldn't help but ask, "Weren't they Qin soldiers in life? Their resentment towards Zhang Han is one thing, but as the empress, shouldn't you be able to command them?"

Mi Li shook her head. "It's true they were Qin soldiers in life, but they died filled with resentment and have been suppressed for over a thousand years. Now, they've completely transformed into vengeful spirits, devoid of any reason. All that remains in their minds is bloodlust and cruelty, a desire to destroy every living creature they see. Once they're fully unleashed, none of us will escape death."

"What's this deal you're talking about?" Zu An had been able to chat casually with Mi Li before because of her beauty, but these vengeful spirits offered no such comfort. The thought of them sent shivers down his spine.

"Don't waste your purification on me," Mi Li said. "Use it against these vengeful spirits. It will be better for both of us!"

Zu An's heart lifted. It seemed this woman truly believed he possessed purification abilities and was frightened.

With that thought, his attitude grew firmer. "Why should I? You nearly killed my wife. How could I let you off so easily?"

Mi Li's expression flickered, clearly undergoing a difficult internal struggle. She glanced at the edge of the pool, where the Terracotta Warriors were steadily retreating, their formation on the verge of collapsing.

After all, the numerical disparity was immense. The undead army numbered over two hundred thousand, an endless tide of attackers, while the Terracotta Warriors only had a few thousand. If not for the undead army's inability to fully emerge all at once, they would have been utterly crushed by the sheer difference in numbers.

"Very well," Mi Li said in a deep voice. "I agree to leave your wife's body, but you must promise never to use purification on me again. Furthermore, in the future, you will be responsible for finding various rare treasures to reconstruct my body."

Zu An was overjoyed. This outcome was an unexpected delight; it seemed the legendary purification truly held great deterrent power over her. "Alright, I agree! Please, quickly leave Chu Chuyan's body!"

"Do you take me for an idiot?" Mi Li sneered. "If I just come out like that, what's to stop you from going back on your word?"

"Then what do you suggest?" Zu An asked. "How about we also make an agreement? That way, you won't have to worry."

"No, agreements have too many loopholes," Mi Li firmly refused. "You're a tricky one; who knows what word games you'd play to ambush me?"

Zu An was speechless.

*Big sister, weren't you the one who just tricked me with a fake contract? And you have the nerve to bring it up?*

The thought infuriated him!

"Zu An, don't agree to her!" Chu Chuyan's voice rang out. "This woman is extremely cunning; she's definitely playing another trick."

Qiao Xueying quickly chimed in, "Exactly! This woman is too wicked. Don't trust her."

Mi Li scoffed. "You two foolish women, what do you know? All's fair in war. We had no prior relationship, so using a few tricks was perfectly normal. If you were so easily fooled, you only have yourselves to blame. But now, we're grasshoppers on the same rope; it's different, of course."

Zu An was momentarily speechless, feeling somehow offended by her words. However, he remained more rational, not letting anger cloud his judgment like Chu Chuyan and Qiao Xueying, especially since he was merely bluffing at the moment.

"If not a contract, then what do you suggest?"

Mi Li had already thought it through. "Ordinary contracts have too many flaws. Let's go back to basics and sign a 'Life and Death Vow.' That way, neither of us can play tricks."

"'Life and Death Vow'? What's that?" Zu An was completely bewildered.

Mi Li quickly explained, "'When life and death are parted, with you I speak. I hold your hand, and grow old with you...'"

Qiao Xueying, standing nearby, couldn't help but mutter, "How shameless! You're not trying to steal Miss Chu's husband, are you?"

Chu Chuyan's expression was also startled, clearly having the same thought.

Mi Li was furious. "You two foolish women, what nonsense are you spouting? Do you think anyone wants to fight you for this obnoxious man? That poem isn't meant to describe romantic love at all! It was circulated among soldiers back then to describe camaraderie, a vow to live and die together with comrades, as the name implies."

Qiao Xueying's face immediately flushed. "Who... who said I was afraid... of that?"

Chu Chuyan also felt a flush of embarrassment, so she didn't notice Qiao Xueying's unusual reaction.

"If we sign this vow, our souls will be bound together," Mi Li added. "If I die, you die. If you die, I die. This way, neither of us will dare to do anything detrimental to the other. Only then will I feel safe leaving your wife's body. Otherwise, I'd rather we all die together."

"Live and die together?" Zu An couldn't help but hesitate. After all, no one wanted to put their fate in someone else's hands.

Chu Chuyan gritted her teeth and said, "Zu An, don't agree! Quickly take Xue'er and leave. I'll hold her back here!"

Zu An frowned, but before he could reply, Mi Li interjected, "What a foolish woman! If he were willing to abandon you, he would have run off long ago. Why would he wait until now, and even suffer such heavy injuries?"

"Besides," she continued, "I don't even dislike your man, yet you have the nerve to dislike me? How powerful I am! Few in this world can harm me, yet your man is so weak. To be honest, I'm the one who should be worried."

Qiao Xueying, standing by, immediately retorted, "Hmph, who are you looking down on? He can live for at least a thousand years, and with higher cultivation in the future, he could live even longer. Being bound to you in life and death would be a loss for him."

It was known that when she performed "Half-Life Bond" earlier, she had given him at least seven or eight hundred years of life. Combined with a cultivator's naturally longer lifespan compared to ordinary people, living for a thousand years was indeed a small matter.

The thought of sacrificing half her life only for Zu An to die because something happened to another woman made Qiao Xueying feel utterly cheated.

"A thousand years?" Chu Chuyan was a little surprised, not understanding why Xue'er said that. Given Zu An's current cultivation, he was still far from living for a thousand years, wasn't he?

Mi Li, however, scoffed, "Forget a thousand years; even if he lived two thousand or five thousand years, I'd still be at a great disadvantage."

Qiao Xueying and Chu Chuyan fell silent, knowing she spoke the truth. After all, who knew how long she had lived in this dark underground palace?

Zu An, however, couldn't help but ask, "Empress sister, how old are you exactly?"

"Why do you ask that?" Mi Li shot him a glare. "Don't you know it's incredibly rude to ask a woman her age?"

Zu An replied, "I have no doubt you could live for ten or even eight thousand years, but you've already lived in this underground palace for thousands of years. What if you're already in your twilight years? Wouldn't I be at a huge disadvantage if we were to live and die together?"

Mi Li was speechless.

[Rage points from Mi Li +777!]

Qiao Xueying, watching from the side, secretly chuckled. When this guy used to anger her, she'd get furious, but now, seeing him anger others, why did it feel so satisfying?

"You brat, you're testing my patience!" Mi Li's eyelids twitched as she gritted her teeth.

Zu An quickly tried to placate her. "Alright, alright, I agree. I'll make the 'Life and Death Vow' with you."

Qiao Xueying and Chu Chuyan immediately panicked. "Zu An, no..."

Zu An stopped them from continuing. "Don't worry, signing this won't actually put me at a disadvantage. This situation needs to be resolved; a stalemate isn't a solution."

Qiao Xueying and Chu Chuyan hesitated, knowing it was true, and found nothing more to say.

Only Zu An knew the truth: he had completely bluffed Mi Li. Therefore, quickly signing the soul vow of living and dying together was the best strategy.

However, he was worried that being too eager would arouse suspicion, so he had deliberately dragged out the conversation for a while. It seemed his tactic had worked well.

"How exactly do we sign this 'Life and Death Vow'?" Zu An asked.

At that moment, Mi Li's face subtly appeared on Chu Chuyan's. She extended a hand and said, "Give me a drop of your essence blood."

"Essence blood?" Zu An's face reddened with embarrassment. "Isn't that... awkward? Taking off my pants in front of you all..."

Qiao Xueying was speechless.Chu Chuyan was speechless.Mi Li was speechless.

"What filthy thoughts fill your mind?!" Mi Li roared in exasperation. "Essence blood is the origin of your life, different from ordinary blood! It's certainly not what you're thinking of!"

[Rage points from Mi Li +517!]

Zu An gave an awkward laugh, embarrassed. He had misunderstood, but then again, he *did* heal Chu Chuyan's primordial meridians with the "thing" he was imagining before.

Mi Li couldn't be bothered with his nonsense. She simply used her index fingernail to prick his forehead, drawing out a drop of blood that was much richer and brighter than ordinary blood.

Chu Chuyan was startled and about to intervene, but Mi Li had already stopped. "Don't worry," she said, "I won't harm your man."

Zu An immediately felt a wave of weakness wash over him, more exhausting than a severe injury. It seemed essence blood was indeed incredibly precious.

Mi Li snorted. "Now, extend your finger and follow my movements."

Qiao Xueying, standing by, warned, "Be careful!"

Chu Chuyan also said, "If you sense anything unusual, immediately stab me with a sword."

Zu An offered a slight smile. "Don't worry, she can't kill me."

With the help of the Rich Mistress Joy Ball, he truly wasn't afraid of this woman.

"You have a strange, inexplicable confidence," Mi Li scoffed, clearly quite displeased.

Zu An said no more. He extended his hand and touched her finger. The cool, icy sensation was extremely comfortable, and for a moment, he was in a daze, wondering if this was the comfort of Chu Chuyan or Mi Li.

"Focus your mind!" Mi Li frowned, Zu An's expression making her feel a little uneasy. "Slowly follow my movements."

Zu An nodded and wasted no more time. Connecting his finger to hers, he used the drop of essence blood as ink to draw an intricate pattern in mid-air.

Once the pattern was complete, it glowed with a golden light before settling onto their foreheads and finally vanishing.

Zu An blinked. In that instant, he suddenly felt a sense of closeness with Mi Li, and he was also certain that she hadn't lied earlier; this vow truly could bind them in life and death.

This confirmation wasn't based on any words or texts, but on an understanding of the Heavenly Dao's rules.

Zu An suddenly remembered a serious problem. "What happens after you leave my wife's body?"

Earlier, he had desperately wanted Mi Li to leave Chu Chuyan's body, but now that their fates were tightly linked, he worried that if Mi Li's soul scattered after she emerged, he would die along with her. That would truly be a situation beyond tears.

Things have been quite busy these past few days. Thank you to all my readers for your understanding and patience. Special thanks to Brother Qingshu, Tianchao Yeman, Sao Heshang Xia Shan Qu Huazhai, Ci'an Yiqiu, and all the other readers who still gifted despite my unstable updates.